Nearly 3,000 foreign journalists traveled to Cuba in January to cover
the visit
of Pope John Paul II. Yet in a clear demonstration that Cuba
uses a policy of selectively granting visas in order to influence
coverage, the government denied visas to a handful of foreign journalists
who had written stories critical of President Fidel Castro. CPJ
protested this policy, as well as a crackdown on independent Cuban
journalists that earned Castro a place on CPJ's list of the
10 worst Enemies of the Press.

While reporters covering the pope's visit were allowed to work unimpeded,
Cuban journalists reported that State Security agents kept them under constant
surveillance.

Although Cuba's communist government controls all media outlets, independent
journalists have evaded the restrictions by dictating stories over the telephone
to colleagues outside the country. The stories -- which range from political
commentaries to reports on human rights abuses -- are circulated on the Internet,
published in newspapers in Miami and in Europe, and broadcast into Cuba by
Radio Martí, the U.S. government's office of Cuba Broadcasting. Some
Cuban journalists describe themselves as disaffected with the Castro regime,
but others say their sole interest in joining the independent press is to
provide accurate information.

Since the first independent press agency was founded in 1994, many journalists
have gone into exile, been jailed, or forced to leave the profession due
to constant harassment. In October, Ana Luisa López Baeza, one of
Cuba's top journalists, defected and moved to Miami; reporter Jorge Luis
Arce Cabrera left for France that same month.

But there are always new journalists to replace those who leave or can no
longer work. Currently, there are about 40 independent journalists divided
among eight agencies. The newest agency, Cuba Verdad, was founded in January,
just prior to the pope's visit.

Working conditions are extraordinarily difficult. Cubans are prohibited from
owning a fax machine or a computer, and even typewriters have been confiscated.
Journalists' phones are constantly monitored, and lines are often cut off
during sensitive conversations. Many journalists allege that they are
conspicuously followed at close range, a form of psychological pressure known
as the "Japanese check." Journalists have been harassed and shouted down
by organized mobs; they are frequently detained and questioned by State Security
agents.

The government has an array of repressive laws at its disposal to stifle
the independent press. The penalty for publishing "anti-government propaganda"
is a year in prison; those criticizing Castro can be penalized with up to
three years imprisonment; "aiding the enemy" can be punished with up to 14
years in prison. Three journalists were in prison at the end of 1998; a fourth
has been sentenced to a year of forced labor. Conditions for political prisoners
are especially difficult. Journalist Bernardo Arévalo Padrón,
who is serving a six-year sentence for showing a "lack of respect," was beaten
in April by State Security officials, who accused him of writing anti-government
posters in prison.

Although the anticipated opening of Cuban society in the aftermath of the
pope's visit did not materialize, there was a six-month lull in the systematic
repression of independent journalists. It ended in August, when the conviction
of dissident Reynaldo Alfaro García for providing false information
provoked a vigorous protest. In an effort to quell possible protest, dissidents
-- including some journalists -- were detained on the eve of a September
8 religious procession in honor of Cuba's patron saint.

Prior to a December 10 opposition rally on the 50th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, State Security officers went to journalists'
homes and physically prevented them from covering the event. They used the
same tactic to keep journalists from covering the December 16 trial of a
dissident who was arrested at the December 10 rally.

Despite these strictures, spaces have been opening in Cuba for both local
and foreign journalists. Although Castro had asserted to a visiting delegation
from the American Society of Newspapers Editors (ASNE) in June that he would
not allow any new U.S. news bureaus in Cuba, he announced in November that
he had given permission for the Associated Press (AP) to open a bureau in
Havana. AP, which was expelled from Cuba in 1969, joins CNN, which is the
only U.S. media organization with a permanent presence in the country.

Cuban journalists say the foreign journalists serve as a strong deterrent
against public abuses. For example, the presence of a CNN camera crew outside
the courthouse where journalist Mario J. Viera was to be tried for slander
on November 27 apparently forced the authorities to show restraint when a
protest erupted. After three protesters were arrested, the trial was postponed
indefinitely. Writing on May 3, International Press Freedom Day, Raúl
Rivero, a poet and Cuba's leading journalist, noted, "Independent journalism
without faxes, without computers, with constant telephone interruptions,
under harassment and threats ... will serve as a base for a return to a free
press, followed by the growth of a democratic society with powerful civil
institutions."